Sorry it took a while to update, been busy wallowing in my self pity. Uh… a lovely thank you to Divinia Serit and Kaladelia Undomiel for the reviews. This chapter jumps a bit but I was running low on ideas for it, I know where I wanna go; it's getting there that's annoying, Penny.
Chapter Four: Back on It
I woke up startled by my new location but last night crashed back to me. Smooth Tonks you kissed Lupin well done! Frigging twat…
I sighed. There was no point worrying over it, you liked it, and he didn't try killing you so he kind of liked it. You're an impulsive girl Tonks it's what you do. And wow what an impulse…
I shook myself from my thoughts and stumbled off down the stairs to the kitchen. When I walked in I found the Weasley children sitting around the table looking fairly tired. The twins were still dozing so I assumed they had not woken themselves up but had been woken by their cheery mother. At the moment she was bustling about the kitchen making breakfast.
Ginny gave me a sleepy smile and shifted so that I could sit in between her and Hermione.
"Wotcher" I said and sat down beside her.
"Mum wants us to start cleaning to make the house fit for human habitation" Ginny mumbled.
"Explains why you all look so excited" I said. Out of all them only Hermione did but that's because she had a book propped open in front of her and was reading it thoroughly. She was an avid learner and if I'd had half the enthusiasm for school as she did when I'd gone through, well lets just say it'd have gone a lot smoother.
I glanced around the table and spotted Lupin sitting next to Black. Both of them had their faces hidden by different sections of the Daily Prophet. There was soft snoring coming from behind Blacks and I had to hide a smile as Molly came round with breakfast.
"Oh Tonks, did you stay over last night?" she asked as she served Ron and George some eggs and toast.
"Yeah, I was talking with Black and it got a little late" I said
"Talking… huh?" Molly asked and slammed a plate of eggs down in front of Lupin a lot harder then necessary. He jumped and looked at her in alarm then glanced at Black who'd groaned.
"He's sleeping" Fred said quietly in an attempt to get his mother to stop slamming the plates. She gave him a look before she slammed a plate of eggs in front of him and Ginny making Black groan again.
She turned to see the reaction she got but his face was still hidden so all she heard was the occasional groan when she slammed a plate down. She continued to slam food in front of everyone and then took to glaring at Black from the sink as she began to clean.
"Mum was pretty mad when she found him on the table this morning" Ginny informed me in a hushed undertone so her mother wouldn't hear. She probably wouldn't over the sound of sloshing water as she cleaned pots and pans in the sink loudly.
"He was on the table?" I asked Ginny who smiled
"I was going to draw on his face but realised fourteen year olds aren't that petty" she said
"Your never too old to draw on a sleeping mans face" I told her making her giggle. She turned to her breakfast and I looked over at the newspaper I knew Lupin was behind. I threw some toast at it and he lowered it with raised eyebrows.
"Yes Tonks" he said as if he expected this from me. He probably did as I think most people knew it was me who threw bits of paper into Dedalus Diggle's open mouth as he sleeps during meetings.
"And a lovely morning to you, Remus. I'm quite well, thank you ever so much for asking" I said sweetly and he smiled, "Why didn't you haul Black upstairs like you said you would. It's not like you to not do the right thing"
"Well I was sleeping in his bed and he likes to spoon I don't" Lupin said and Hermione and Ginny both giggled.
"I thought you were going home" I said
"I didn't" he said simply before looking back at his paper. I threw my toast at his face and his mouth fell open in shock.
"You're incredibly immature"
"You're incredibly annoying" I retorted childishly.
"Yes… but you like it" he said and I threw another piece of toast at him. "Nymphadora it's not very nice to throw toast at your elders"
I took a piece of Hermione's toast and threw it at him making her laugh, "Then stop talking and I'll stop throwing. And don't call me Nymphadora" he just looked back down at his paper. I stole a piece of Blacks toast to payback Hermione before beginning to eat my own breakfast. A piece of toast hit me and I looked up to glare at Lupin who was reading his paper calmly.
"That wasn't very mature of you Mr-I'm-so-mature" I said and he stuck his tongue out at me making me smile.
"It wasn't me" he said and I raised my eyebrows at him. He stared back innocently and I looked at Ginny and Hermione who both exchanged a glance before pointing at Lupin.
"Thank you girls" he said dryly.
"Sorry Professor but she's infinitely cooler then you are" Ginny said and I stuck my tongue out at Lupin in triumph.
Lupin went back to his paper once more and I morphed my face making Ginny's orange juice come out of her nose and Hermione giggle.
"What else can you do?" Hermione asked sounding intrigued and I exercised my morphing skills for her. Ginny who had unfortunately tried to go back for another sip of orange juice wound up spitting it out again as I stared at her with a carrot nose.
"Ginny" Molly scolded and she pointed at me defensively. I stared at Molly with an ordinary face and shrugged. Molly gave her daughter a look before turning away and I morphed my face again. I entertained them for a few minutes before Hermione stopped me so I could help her broaden her knowledge.
"Tonks I was reading-" Hermione but was interrupted by loud groans from all the kids.
She shook her head and turned back to me, "I can't take you seriously with a tomato on your face"
I chuckled and changed my face to how I usually wore it and she smiled while Ginny, now it was safe, sipped on her juice.
"I was reading about Metamorphmagi" Hermione said and I smiled, she was usually reading about something.
My parents had gone through hundreds of books trying to find something when I'd first been born and later as I entered primary school and changed my appearance to go home with different families. They couldn't find much I didn't think Hermione would have either and I told her this.
"I don't expect you found much there are only like eight in the world at the moment" I said and she nodded
"I didn't, but there are varying degrees of it so I'd be interested to know anything about any of them" she said.
"We don't get together at conventions or anything Hermione. There's one in France my parents wrote to a lot when I was younger. I still get a Christmas card from him…" I muttered.
"Is he a full blooded one like you?" Hermione asked
"Yeah he knows this guy in Canada who's trying to find one to breed with his son you should see if you can get in contact apparently he has a whole list. However when you do please don't tell him I'm female" I said.
"Why? Don't you want to breed?" Black asked as I wrote down the address for Hermione. I looked up and glared at him thinking of something to say but Molly got him for me. She whacked him over the back of the head sharply and he turned to her with a startled jump.
"That is not appropriate breakfast table conversation" she snapped hitting him again.
"Can someone warn me when she's behind me please?" Black hissed as she walked away.
"I would have but you puked in my shoes and this was my revenge" Lupin said.
"I told you that time it was Prongs" Black muttered
"You did it this morning" Lupin replied.
"Oh, yeah, yeah that was probably me"
"It was"
Everyone resumed eating breakfast and when the kids were done Molly ushered them off upstairs to start cleaning.
I was left with Black and Lupin while we slowly made our way through breakfast and the paper. I'd just stolen Blacks section as he'd started to sleep once more.
After I was finished I tossed the paper onto Blacks head and then headed upstairs to grab my things.
As I was searching through my briefcase to check I hadn't attempted to do anything while intoxicated I spotted a shoe I'd kicked off at some point during the night. I sighed and sat on the bed trying to slide my left shoe on without having to undo the laces. There was a knock on the door and I looked up to see Lupin.
"Wotcher Lupin" I said giving up on the left shoe and tossing it away grabbing my right one.
"We should talk" he said.
"Ok, how bout them Harpies?" I asked and tried to pull on my shoe.
"I meant about last night" he clarified. He was never specific enough.
"Oh, well I found it a perfectly acceptable August night although I feel mercury set a little too fast, maybe it's sick" I said tossing the shoe away in defeat and looking at him. He'd probably have made me give him my undivided attention sooner or later so I stared at him my complete focus. He was looking at me as if unsure how to respond.
"A planet can't get sick" he said finally.
"How would you know that Remus? Do you know any planets that have told you this?" I asked giving him a look.
"Well they haven't told me but earth is fine" he said frowning in curiosity.
"No she's not, she's dying from pollution and humans raping the water and forests she grows for us" I said beginning to untie the laces on my left shoe before sliding it on.
"I meant we should talk about our kiss" he said as I tied the shoe tightly.
"Oh, well now I feel like an idiot" I said taking the other shoe and untying the laces, "As your not a man who's learnt to elaborate or… well, even talk that much you need to be specific when you want to say something Remus. Other wise people, mostly me, will get confused"
"We kissed" he said as I put the shoe on and tied it up. I put my foot down and frowned at him for a few moments trying to work out whether he had a problem with it or not. "I kissed you, there's a difference"
"There is?" he asked and I stood up staring at him. He had a problem with it… ok…
"Look, I kissed you so you don't have to feel guilty. No let me correct that, you don't get to so don't you dare try to beat yourself up for it. I kissed you because I wanted to. I know you don't like me the same way I like you so really there's not much to talk about. I doubt one kiss made you change you mind about going out with me. So don't worry, message received, we're not happening I get it and I'll back off. I don't mind settling for friends… I can still be around you and that's enough for me" right now…
"Oh" Lupin said quietly.
"Easiest rejection ever huh? You barely had to say anything. Later Lupin" I said and walked past him with a small smile. I walked down the stairs and said a quick goodbye to everyone before making my way home.
We had collected Potter and he was sitting happily in Grimmauld Place. He'd settled in well and in a few days would be going to a hearing to decide whether or not he'd get to go back to Hogwarts with his friends. It's a crap feeling, knowing your whole future is going to be decided in a mere hour. He however seemed to be not letting it affect him and I was trying to do the same by not thinking about how awesome it had been to kiss Lupin. I wondered if I would think about him so much if I hadn't ever met him after the bar.
I thought about it for a while before coming to the conclusion using the fact I become a complete moron when I really like a guy, yeah I'd keep obsessing over why he said no.
It had been good lately because I hadn't had too much time alone with my thoughts. I was constantly working for both the Order and the Ministry I'd actually kept forgetting to schedule in sleep time. This caused me to be so tired I could barely focus on anything other then what I was supposed to be doing. It was good because it meant my mind didn't wander too much so I wasn't making as big of an idiot out of myself in front of certain people. However, it also meant I was late to work for the third in a row. I was frantically writing a few reports while I tied my shoes and tried to eat my breakfast.
Mum walked into the kitchen and spotted me just as I stole dad's toasted ham and cheese sandwich while he was distracted trying to find the sports report.
"Morning Dora, we haven't seen you for a few mornings" mum said. She sounded slightly hopeful, I had a sneaking suspicious she thought I was dating again.
Dad looked over at me and realised I'd stolen his sandwich.
"No time" I said around a mouthful of it as he glared at me. I wrote frantically and threw the half eaten sandwich back at dad. He glared again before making himself some cereal instead so I finished his sandwich in two massive bites.
"Oh they've been working you ragged Dora" mum said and I stared at her blankly
"Whot?" I asked around a mouthful of food and she gave me a sad smile. So she didn't think I was dating. That was good; she'd usually nag for grandkids if I was.
She thought I was working every time I did Order things. I frowned; it was kind of like work except I didn't get paid to be there.
"Not really" I muttered.
"Are you to busy to baby sit the Baker kids this Friday?"
"Uh…?" I said slowly. I think they were my neighbours but I couldn't be to sure…
"The Baker kids, you know, their mum is the vet with the Doberman" she said and I remembered they lived just down the road.
"Oh, yeah… yeah uh… I guess I can watch them…" I muttered
"Good I already said yes" mum said sounding relieved.
"What if I'd been working?" I asked
"You're not so it doesn't matter"
"You only told her I'd do it so you and dad could have loud obnoxious sex"
"We do that even when you're here honey, we just thought it'd be more considerate toward you if you weren't here"
"Well thank you for considering me for once" I said sarcastically and mum beamed.
"Your welcome sweetie" she said. I just rolled my eyes and smeared some toothpaste onto the toothbrush I'd grabbed from the bathroom as I'd hurried past earlier.
I finished a file and moved on to another one brushing my teeth at the same time. I glanced at the clock and worked a little faster. I gave up gathered my things and spat the mouthful of toothpaste into a random cup which happened to have my dads coffee in it.
"Dora!" he scolded
"Sorry" I said and ran out the door knocking over a chair and the table with the vase in the process.
I ran into work skidding to a halt in front of my desk and sat down catching my breath.
"Tonks!" Scrimgeour snapped and I spun to face him. I stopped at the sight of the tiny baby in his arms; I stared for a few moments with my mouth ajar before I asked, "Why do you have a baby?"
"This is my niece Zoe" he replied. I stared at her and she stared back with big brown eyes. As I stared at her I became increasingly paranoid he was going to make me look after it. The Baker kids were all over five, which was why I didn't mind watching them. I never watched actual babies, I'd probably drop them or something.
"Stop looking at the baby!" he snapped and Zoe giggled. I frowned at her then looked up at him trying not to let my gaze drop.
"What time does your nine o'clock shift start?" he asked
"Uh… nine?" I said slowly
"What does that clock say?" he patronised and I found myself wondering if I could catch the baby in time if he happened to fall over after I punched him in the face.
"Nine thirty" I replied calmly.
"I'm so glad you can read the time. Try it again tomorrow and maybe you'll be here on time but don't worry I won't get my hopes up. How are you doing with those files?"
"Uh… making progress" I said
"Good, here's more" he said and handed me another twenty before walking away.
"I didn't say it was good progress!" I shouted after him but he ignored me. I groaned and began to shift through them tiredly. I worked surprising efficiently in my sleep deprived state. That might because every time I finished one as a reward I'd give my self a five minute power nap.
I was woken by Tracy who sat down beside me and raved about what she'd just been doing out in the field. She'd been helping catch a rapist who picked Muggle women and used magic to torture them into submission. She was quite proud as she'd had to do it mostly herself going in as the trap.
"Well now I'm jealous" I said when she finished. She laughed evilly
"You'll never guess who I saw though"
"Elton John?" I tried and she frowned.
"Uh well no, but good try. I saw your bartender" she said and grinned
"My bartender?" I asked in confusion.
"You know that bartender you asked out and he said no and it was really humiliating for you and no one will let you forget it?" she said.
"Yeah why is that?"
"Boredom mostly" she said pleasantly. "Anyway I heard Scrimgeours trying to bring him in for questioning. To be caught hanging around at Millar's bust is a bit unfortunate but to be found at my bust as well is a little suspicious. I mean I was hitting up some rapist so I think it's a bit more then a coincidence" Tracy said and I nodded slowly.
"Plus" she said lowering her voice and leaning in closer "apparently he was pretty close to Sirius Black…" she leant back and smiled "I think maybe it was better he shot you down you have no idea what he could be into"
"Not the slightest clue…" I muttered.
"Oh and it's my birthday in a few weeks so keep your calendar open" she said
"I'm down for a party" I said and she sniggered.
"Good, it's at your bartenders bar"
"What?"
"The Misnomer I think it's called…"
"Why would you have it there?"
"Well firstly to humiliate you and second it's a pretty good bar when you go in at night. During the day it's like a wino dump"
"You just said that the bartender could be a criminal"
"That doesn't make the bar bad. Oh and your coming whether you want to or not" she said. I sighed and nodded making her smile. She was about to leave but stopped when we noticed a man standing behind us. I knew he worked here but I couldn't recall an occasion were we'd actually spoken. The other guys in the office called him the vampire because he was extremely pale and was usually only seen during the night.
"Hey Alan" Tracy said
"Alex" he replied
"Oh, yeah I did know that Alex Green right?" she said
"White" he corrected.
"White, of course in human resources" she continued.
"Cold cases"
"Fuck" Tracy cursed under her breath.
"Impressive people skills Trace, can I help you?" I asked Alex who smiled.
"Yes you can. You're the one doing all the filing and things for Scrimgeour right?" he asked.
"Yeah… don't worry I'm not solving your cases or anything" I replied with a smile.
"Not that you could" Tracy muttered and I shot her a look while Alex smiled.
"It's all right, I barely can. Uh… you've got the Bone case and we've found it has a connection to one of our other cases so if we're just wondering if we can take it back off you" Alex said.
"Oh, sure, fewer folders means less work" I said searching through the stacks of files on my desk to find the one he was after.
"Thank you for doing all this by the way we really appreciate it" he said
"I'm not really doing much" I muttered.
"Still we appreciate it" he said.
"Well then your welcome" I said and continued my search. I found it near the bottom and pulled it out carefully and handed it to him.
"Thank you" he said taking it from me.
"It's fine, I'll see you later" I said and he smiled before heading off.
"Shit, that guy was totally flirting with you" Tracy said.
"What? No he wasn't"
"Yeah he was. Your doing shit all for him and he thanked you for it"
"He's nice" I said with a shrug.
Less then a minute later he was back and Tracy grinned arrogantly.
"Alex" I said in greeting.
"Tonks," he replied. "I was just wondering if you were free this Friday night."
I was kind of surprised; I'd seen him a few times around the office and heard some of the girls talking about him occasionally. Not often enough to really remember his name obviously. I just hadn't noticed him and wasn't aware he'd noticed me or taken enough interest in me to ask me out.
I glanced at Tracy who was making wild gestures behind his back. I was lucky I spoke fluent Tracy sign-language. I could pretty accurately guess she was telling me to go for it because he's apparently wild in bed.
"Um… what?" I asked looking at him.
"Are you free-?"
"No, I heard you. I was just… surprised"
"Surprised into saying yes?"
"You're asking me out?" I clarified.
"Yes I am, so… say yes or break my heart" he said and I smiled.
"I'm baby sitting my neighbours kids, sorry. I would but mum already agreed for me…" I said and Tracy rolled her eyes.
"If it's all right I wouldn't mind helping you out" Alex said and I had to resist the urge to laugh. Never ever had I had a date while babysitting and nor had any guy been so determined to date me he would put up with screaming kids.
"Um… yeah, I'm sure that'd be fine…" I said completely flattered.
"Fantastic" he said with a smile and then kissed my cheek. His lips felt cool and I giggled immaturely as he pulled away. He smiled and then walked away.
"Aw, he made you blush" Tracy said
"Shut up!" I snapped and she grinned.
"You know he's a vampire right?" she said and we both laughed.
"But not really right?" I asked and she smiled
"Relax! No, it's just office gossip. My girls got a date" she said and held up her hand.
"I'm not high-fiving you" I said and she pouted.
"Fine" she said standing up dramatically and then began to do an odd little dance while singing. "Tonks is gonna get some action yeah she's getting laid getting some action"
"Trace, shut the fuck up" I said and she ignored me dancing happily even throwing in the robot, "Yeah some action oh she's getting laid yeah"
"McCollum!" Scrimgeour barked and I snorted covering it quickly with a cough. Tracy stopped dancing and put on her serious face staring at him, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Oh, it's my 'Tonks is getting some action' dance" she replied as seriously as if talking about a dead man.
"Do it over there" Scrimgeour snapped and she danced off. I was still trying to cover my laughter with coughing and wound up choking.
"Do you want some water?" Scrimgeour shouted at me.
"I'm fine" I said
"Then shut up" he said and stalked off. I sniggered and glanced over at Tracy who was dancing at her desk silently.
Kingsley came over to my desk and handed me a folder with a small frown as he watched Tracy dance, "What's all that about?"
"Oh-" I started but Tracy interrupted
"Tonks is gonna get laid!" she sang and I glared at her.
"McCollum! You just volunteered to watch my niece" Scrimgeour snapped and Tracy stopped singing immediately. She looked like someone had told her she'd just been fired and her mother had died. I turned away from her so I wouldn't end up laughing at her misfortune which is never a very nice thing to do.
"So, getting laid huh?" Kingsley asked me with a smirk.
"It's just a date" I muttered pretending to be engrossed in the file he'd given me.
"Who with?" he asked
"Why is my social life so important to you?" I asked glaring at him over the top of the file.
"Who with?" he repeated.
"Alex White"
"The vampire?"
"Not everyone pale on the night shift is a vampire"
"I know that, but he's really pale"
"Lupins really pale"
"He's a werewolf" he said and I froze trying to think of a retort.
"Alex isn't a werewolf" I said after a few moments.
"No, he's a vampire" Kingsley replied.
"That is just so… I – that's… you're wrong" I said and he smirked knowing he'd won. Oh I hate that…
"You know what, I haven't been out on a date in nearly eight months and I haven't had sex in over six so I don't care. He's a nice guy, dead or no"
"Oh" he said in disgust, "it'd be like having sex with an ice lolly"
"I like ice lollies" I retorted.
"Not there you won't" he said and I kicked him hard in the shin. Tracy gave me a whoop of support and I grinned, it was going to be a good week.
My week had gone rather well as I'd anticipated. My date was going even better which was a very pleasant and welcomed surprise.
The five Baker kids were all eating their pizza slices while watching a movie. They were perfect kids and the eldest a twelve year old named Kelly was very good at making sure her brothers and sister were mindful of their manners so I really didn't have to do much.
I sat on the couch next to Alex while he held my hand tracing patterns into my palm making me smile. We hadn't really had much of a chance to talk but it was nice to be able to just sit with a guy, I hadn't done that in so long.
"Alex, your paler then a dead guy, what's up with that?" Danny asked as he chomped his way through a forth slice of pizza.
"Whoa, Danny, that's kind of rude" I said
"Oh sorry, have you noticed that your paleness resembles someone who is no longer alive" Danny rephrased.
"Still not right" I said and he frowned at me.
"Its fine, I just don't get out in the sun to much" Alex said.
"Why not?" Kelly asked, "It's nice and warm and pretty much out there all the time"
"Truth is, I'm a vampire"
Oh I fucking hate Kingsley.
"Alex want to help me with dessert?" I asked and without waiting for an answer I hauled him into the kitchen.
"They're going to make-out" Danny informed his siblings pleasantly.
I shut the kitchen door and turned to Alex. I hadn't thought of what to say yet so I just glared. I probably should have guessed… a nice guy is interested in me there's gotta be something wrong with him. Like he's dead! Fantastic…
"Don't give me that look I thought you knew" he said as I glared.
"If I knew I wouldn't have invited you to hang around children. Muggle children!" I said, "You could have exposed magic just now"
"Any Muggle child who believes in vampires is not right in the head, have you seen how they ridicule my kind in those films?"
"Not the point Alex. I can't believe you wouldn't be upfront about something like that"
"Firstly I really did think you knew. Second if you didn't, I wouldn't have told you until I knew you a little better. That's normal right, to wait at least four dates until you start telling your partner the things about you you're not so proud of"
"That's not why I'm mad, you keep your secrets, fine everyone deserves a few but there are kids in that room. Tiny children with long lives a head of them, it's dangerous"
"Tonks do you really think the ministry would hire me if I was still drinking from your kind?" he asked and I sighed.
"I'm sorry" I said
"No I am. Look, if you want me to go I'll leave right now" he said and I bit my lip. He was right; if he was dangerous the ministry probably wouldn't have him employed. Plus if he did go crazy I did have my wand which doubled as a stake.
"No… no, stay. I was, for no explainable reason as I was informed a few times, kind of shocked. Now I've let it sink in it's actually kind of cool" I said with a small smile. He pulled me into a hug
"This is why I like the young girls, they always find it cool" he said and I laughed. He kissed me softly and then helped me serve up the ice-cream. We carried them into the living room for the five happy kids who eagerly devoured it.
We sent the first Baker child to bed at eight and the rest followed every half hour until ten and then Alex and I were alone.
"So… Mrs Baker won't be back till one…" I said quietly as I moved onto Alex's lap. He looked up at me with a small smile, "want to guess what I'm thinking we should do with all that time?" I whispered to him.
"I certainly hope it's what I'm thinking" he replied and I smiled and kissed him softly.
"Want to play scrabble?" I asked and he frowned and then laughed.
"What?"
"Come on, Mr Baker was a linguist so he used to play all the time but ever since he left Mrs Baker and the kids she can't bare to even say it. I don't even know why she's still kept the board, I think when Mr Baker comes back, if ever, she's going to like burn it in front of him or something"
"Scrabble? Really?"
"Well I'll play strip scrabble if you want?"
"And when Mrs Baker comes home to find me with no pants on?" he asked
"Well… I'm a very clumsy girl" I said, "I could have spilt a drink, or… well any number of things on your pants"
He leant up and kissed me softly at first but then it quickly escalated until I was grinding against him as he kissed down my neck making me gasp.
"So… scrabble?" he asked with a wicked little grin.
"Oh, well really I was only using it so I could spell out words like 'fuck', 'hard', 'fast', 'rough' and such but I think you pretty much got the message" I said nodding.
"Your one of the most original and unusual girls I've ever had the pleasure of meeting" he said
"I assume there'd have been quite a few so I'll take that as a compliment. Uh… just how old are you?" I asked
"Why? Do you like older men?" he asked
"My last boyfriend was kind of immature so I'm trying them out" I said with a smile.
"A hundred and two" he said and I bit my lip trying to hide my laughter.
"You don't think you're too old for me do you?" I asked
"Over twenty-one I figure its fair game" he said and I smiled.
"Great, fuck me" I said
"What? Right now? There are children in the house, innocent tiny children" he said quoting my earlier words making me giggle.
"Fine" I sighed climbing off his lap, "but before this night is through we're doing something"
"Of course" he said with a grin and I settled down beside him turning my attention back to the movie playing on the TV.
"Actually on second thought yes" he said and I quickly climbed back on top of him kissing him fiercely.
Mrs Baker had got home a little after one and let Alex and I go with a very enthusiastic thank you and a nice tip. She was kind of tipsy and didn't mind I'd had a date as her date had gone so well.
I quickly led Alex out of the house and we started the walk to my home. As we'd spent the last hour before Mrs Baker's arrival in an awkward silence I was more then happy to be walking home. I wasn't so happy that Alex insisted he escort me. The sex had started off great then got really awkward at the end. It wasn't even his awkwardness; it had been me so I was determined to never ever see him again after this night. Hopefully I could forget all about it.
"Tonks… it's ok really" he said as we walked, "I thought it was cute" he said taking my hand in his. I shivered slightly at his cool touch but said nothing.
Of course he'd be fine with it; naturally he'd find it cute. I bet he'd find all of my faults cute. He's practically perfect in everyway and being the insane girl I am don't want him. We walked in silence and I said the first thing I had in over an hour. You know, apart from the wrong guys name as I came and 'I'm really sorry' four seconds afterward.
"This is my stop" I muttered pointing to my house. Alex smiled and walked me up the steps to leave me at the front door.
"I had nice time tonight" he said and I looked down at my shoes unable to meet his eyes.
"Yeah I'm sure every guy loves to know the girl is thinking of someone else" I said to my shoes. He curled a bit of my hair behind my ear and titled my head up so I was looking at him.
"Tonks, I honestly I don't mind and if this-"
"Don't say his name!" I interrupted and he smiled
"Fine, if this man has no problems I'd like to continue to see you" he said. Of course you would, I thought bitterly. He sighed at my silence before nodding
"Let me know" he said and kissed my cheek softly before walking off. I leant on the railing and watching him walk down the steps and then off into the darkness. I stood on my front porch fretting for over ten minutes before I made up my mind. I couldn't go inside so I Apparated. I landed on top of someone and we both groaned. I hadn't landed on anyone in all my years of Apparating so it was strange but I was thankful to have not splinched myself or anything in the process.
I climbed off whoever I'd landed on while quickly thinking of lies I could tell if they turned out to be a Muggle. I stopped thinking momentarily when I was it was Remus Lupin. I just groaned and slapped his shoulder before heading up the stairs to Grimmauld Place.
"I'm fine thank you" he muttered catching up to me.
"Oh, yeah… sorry" I said quietly.
"Are you ok?" he asked
"Yeah, I'm fine. I mean… I'm just not thinking to clearly so I wound up on top of you. I mean… well I was on top of you but not in a – shut up Tonks" I said and he frowned at me.
"Are you sure all right?"
"Fucking peachy!" I replied and walked into Grimmauld Place. I led the way down to the kitchen and glanced around for Black. I spotted him in time to not get knocked over as he pounced on me. He held me tightly in a hug for a few moments before pulling away.
"You're not Remus" he said.
"And we should all be thankful for it" I said and he pulled me back to him.
"Even though you're really, really cold you're still better to cuddle then Moony" he said and I frowned and glanced over at Lupin who stood looking amused. I turned back to Black
"No and you reek of awful cigars and booze" I informed him and he looked a little proud.
"You reek of shame and sex" he retorted.
"Your quite drunk aren't you?" I asked and he just started to pet my hair in response. It was hilarious and creepy at the same time.
"Of course it was an accident. I thought the vodka was water" he said after a few moments.
"I'm sure you did you adorable alcoholic you" I said and he tightened his grip on my waist. He rested his head on my shoulder and dozed softly for a few moments. I looked over at Lupin who gave me a small smile of appreciation.
"I've got it covered, you can go do whatever it is you do and I'll haul him upstairs" I said nodding.
"No sleep!" Black said, "I have to ask Moony why he was late"
"Ok" I said and waited expectantly. Black didn't say anything till I poked him in his side.
"You two came in at the same time and she smells like sex…"
"We were coming from different places" Lupin said
"Oh… so you two weren't on a date together?" Black asked
"No" Lupin said
"Then why were you late?" Black asked frowning.
"I had to inventory the bar" Lupin said and Black nodded slowly.
"Why weren't you on a date? You said she liked you and that she kissed you"
"I did, but we decided it'd be better to just be friends" I told him
"So you went and got another date?" he asked and I smiled.
"Let's just get you to bed hmm?" I said and with a smile to Lupin I dragged Black off upstairs. He led the way as I really had no idea what lay beyond the second floor. He had released my waist and was now leading me by the hand stumbling only slightly on the stairs.
We walked up to the top floor of the house and he clumsily pushed open the door to his dark room not bothering to switch on the lights. He still held my hand so he pulled me into his room and onto the bed with him.
He let go of my hand and a split second later his arms went around my waist to hold me to him.
"Black, I have to go home" I said as he held me tightly.
"No you don't" he said and I smiled.
"My parents will ground me" I said trying to get up but he just held me tighter.
"I'll risk it" he said and I sighed
"Fine, I'll stay" he smirked and pulled away from me lying so we were simply side my side. I took hold of his hand and entwined our fingers as we stared at the ceiling.
This Black was a lot different from the other sides of him I'd seen. It was slightly unnerving because I hadn't experienced the 'out there' side of him even when I'd drunk with him before. I suspect this is what he would have been like at school and that his life hitting a devastating turn at twenty would have led to the often dour and alcoholic man he was now.
"Want to talk about-?"
"No" I interrupted and he chuckled. We settled into a silence before I turned on my side and stared at him for a few moments, "How are you?"
"I come and go…" he muttered and I nodded.
"Well if you need me to do anything…" I muttered
"Your pretty much doing it" he said, "it's been a while since I've been able to connect to anyone. Even Lupin is strange and foreign to me so something as simple as hand holding is a nice comfort"
"Well you can hold my hand whenever you want too" I said
"I would take you up on that but I'm taking a risk even doing it now. Its common knowledge girls have lurgy" he said and I smiled and lifted up the hand I was holding using my free one to draw on it with my finger tip
"Circle, circle square, square now you've got it everywhere" I said and he laughed.
"Was that the shot or the disease?"
"Whichever you want it to be" I said and he smiled. I shuffled closer and rested my head on his shoulder.
"You have to come over more when they all go" he said quietly and I glanced at him. "I'll probably annoy Lupin a lot so he'll spend a little more time at his place and…"
"I'll come over" I said
"Thank you" he said
"I don't cook though so your getting take out"
"Oh thank you!" he said and I smiled. We were silent for a little while before I frowned.
"This isn't weird because we're related right?" I asked
"So long as we don't have sex I think we're all right"
"I'll try and contain myself" I said, "there aren't any dishes up here anyway" he snorted and gave me a small shove making me smile again.
"I really doubt you came all the way over here to check up on me and make really bad incest jokes" he said and I glanced at him.
"Yeah… you're right but now I'm here I'm ok with not talking"
"You want to talk boys" he said suddenly and I looked at him.
"You're amazingly perceptive" I said
"Yes I am, so let me perceive which boy is troubling you… I'm going to say socially awkward werewolf. How's it going, being just friends?" he asked and I sighed.
"Not the guy I want to talk about ever, ever again"
"Oh, I thought you didn't mind being friends"
"I'm fine with it. I like it, I already went out with someone else; my life is going great, so great!" I said with a smile.
"Hmm? Yeah it doesn't really sound like it" he said
"Why does everyone think I'm in love with Lupin? I'm not; he's just a really nice guy I kind of liked enough to ask out" I snapped rather defensively.
"Oh testy…" Black murmured quietly and I squeezed his hand hard "I'm guessing that some how my dear friend has stuffed something up"
"No, it was me, I stuffed something up" I said.
"On your date?"
"Yeah…" I sighed.
"Dates… yeah um you do realise I actually haven't gone out with anyone since the seventies right?"
"That's fine; I'm not asking questions in etiquette or anything. It's just… he was so great and really sweet and it was all perfect so we were… you know… and it was… so great… and then…"
"It was not so great?" he asked and I shook my head.
"No… it was still great but I…"
"Didn't?"
"No I did… but…"
"Spit it out girl!"
"I called him Remus" I said. Black snorted but managed to cover it slightly with a cough. Unfortunately he started to laugh and didn't stop for a good five minutes. By the time he was done he was clutching his stomach and gasping for air.
"I'm so sorry Tonks that's not funny at all its disgusting" he said, "why would you-? He's not even-" and he started to laugh again. I waited patiently for him to finish before I spoke.
"What do I do?" I asked him and he stared at me for a few moments before pulling me into a hug.
"I've got no fucking clue"
"Thank you ever so much"
"Here to help" he said and I hit his stomach
"Night Sirius" I said
"Ah even with my shoddy advice I made it onto a first name basis"
"Call me my first name and you're going to wake up with one of your favourite body parts chopped off"
"But I like my foot attached to my body"
"I was thinking slightly higher"
"Oh well that's not very nice"
"Good night Sirius"
"Good night Tonks"
Going to bed didn't like the end but whatever. Keeping it short with a simple: Review! Penny
